State Of The Artists

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Art Instructions

Decoration Tips

  • Vector art (Illustrator, EPS) should be designed/labeled in PMS colors
  • Non-vector art (Photoshop) should be designed in CMYK, created at a minimum of 300 dpi (dots per square inch) and set up to output at exact size of planned decoration
  • Save all fonts in artwork to outlines
  • Any gradients should be set up between 20% and 80% opacity (no less or no more)
  • With any intended full bleed design, please provide a reasonable additional border containing extra bleed and label the cut line.
  • All colors in art file not meant to be printed, embroidered or applied as decoration should be locked.
  • Do not save non-vector art or CMYK colors in Illustrator or EPS programs. It will render the artwork unusable.
  • Do not save JPEGs or PNGs in Illustrator, Photoshop or EPS programs. That will not pass as usable artwork.

EMBROIDERY SPECIFICS (additional)

  • Always take into account that there are artistic limitations with thread when producing logos and fonts on all materials.
  • Art files are preferred to be in Illustrator format.
  • Art files must be set up in PMS colors.
  • Fonts must be set up to embroider at a minimum of ¼” in height and width
  • While gradients are achievable with embroidery, once again, please understand the limitations.

File Types

  • AI/.ai (Adobe Illustrator) –  Drawing created with a vector graphics editing program; composed of paths connected by points, rather than bitmap image data; commonly used for logos and print media. Since Illustrator image files are saved in a vector format, they can be enlarged without losing any image quality. AI files are functional for decoration
  • PSD/.psd (Adobe Photoshop) –  Image file created by a professional image-editing program; may include image layers, adjustment layers, layer masks, annotation notes, file information, keywords, and other Photoshop-specific elements. Photoshop documents support CMYK, RGB, grayscale, monochrome, duotone, indexed color, lab color, and multichannel color modes. Since these image files are not saved in vector format, they can not be enlarged without losing image quality. PSD files are functional for decoration, but must be set up in CMYK, layered properly and saved at exact decorative size.
  • EPS/.eps –  File that may contains 2D vector graphics, bitmap images, and text; may also include an embedded preview image in bitmap format; can be placed within another PostScript document. EPS files are supported by several different drawing programs and vector graphic editing applications. They are often used as a standard means for transferring image data between different operating systems. Since EPS image files are saved in a vector format, they can be enlarged without losing any image quality.  EPS files are functional for decoration
  • PDF/.pdf –  File that captures document text, fonts, images, and even formatting of documents from a variety of applications. Since PDFs contain color-accurate information, they should also print the same way they look on your screen. You can e-mail a PDF document to another party and it will look the same way on his/her screen as it looks on yours, even if he has a Mac and you have a PC. PDFs can store Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop art files that are functional for decoration.
  • JPEG/.jpg –  Compressed image format used for storing digital photos. While these images can contain colorful, high-resolution image data, some quality is lost when the image is compressed. JPEGs can be used as art references but not as functional art files for decoration.
  • PNG/.png – Compressed image format used for storing application graphics. PNG files images do not have any blurring or other artifacts that may appear in JPEG images. PNGs can be used as art references but not as functional art files for decoration.
  • GIF/.gif – Image file format commonly used for images on the web and software programs. Unlike the JPEG image format, a GIF’s compression does not degrade the quality of the image. GIFs store image data using indexed can include a maximum of 256 colors. GIFs are only functional art files for embroidery decoration, but not preferred.
  • BITMAP/.bmp – File format for saving image files that was introduced on the Windows platform, but is now recognized by many programs on both MACs and PCs. The BMP format stores color data without any compression. This method allows for crisp, high-quality graphics while producing large file sizes. BMPs are only functional art files for embroidery decoration, but not preferred.
  • TIF/.tif –  Graphics file format created in the 1980’s to be the standard image format across multiple computer platforms. Many small improvements have been made to the format, so there are presently at least 50 variations. This has become a less popular universal format. TIFs are only functional art files for embroidery decoration, but not preferred.